This disclosure relates to integrated circuit devices, and more specifically, to a method and structure to create advanced metal conductor structures in semiconductor devices.
As the dimensions of modem integrated circuitry in semiconductor chips continues to shrink, conventional lithography is increasingly challenged to make smaller and smaller structures. With the reduced size of the integrated circuit, packaging the circuit features more closely together becomes important as well. By placing features closer to each other, the performance of the overall integrated circuit is improved.
However, by placing the integrated circuit features closer together, many other problems are created. One of these problems is an increase in the resistance-capacitance (RC) delay caused at least in part by the increase in copper resistivity as the dimensions of the features become smaller. The RC delay is the delay in signal speed through the circuit as the result of the resistance and capacitance of the circuit elements.
The present disclosure presents improved interconnects to alleviate this problem.